Trigger warning: suicidal ideation - please take care! EllaI’m about to hoist myself up onto the frozen railing when two robed figures appear on either side of me, their faces both familiar and strange. There’s something about them that sets off alarms in my mind, but not the usual kind. It fee
They pile into the group hug and their father bends down to scoop them up into his arms, balancing the three older children while his wife cradles the youngest. I can hear their laughter, but I can feel it too. Their happiness is foreign to me and yet so contagious, merely watching them makes me fee
EllaAfter Leon leaves Sinclair takes me to bed, though not for the reason I initially hoped. I cling to him as he tries to place me in my nest, “What are you doing?” I inquire indignantly.“Trying to help you get comfortable.” He replies, petting my cheek. “You need to rest.”“You promised we’d cud
“This isn’t fair!” I whimper desperately, “I was high!” I’ve been spanked and worked up into an impossible lather, forced to orgasm over and over again as my mate overwhelms me with more pleasure than I can bear. I never know how Sinclair is going to punish me, and today he seems to have decided to
EllaSinclair’s heartbeat thumps steadily beneath my ear as his hands move over my body, massaging away all the kinks in my overworked muscles. I’ve been fading in and out of consciousness for the last hour, floating in a very different kind of high than the one induced by ether. Sinclair tells me i
“I know.” I confirm, knowing Sinclair is only reminding me because he’s so afraid that it won’t come to be. It terrifies me too. He’s holding up a bite of chicken now, but I ignore it, leaning past his hand to steal a kiss. He cradles my head as we melt into the intimate act, his tongue teasing the
EllaAs per usual the news about my latest hypnosis session is all over the palace by the time Sinclair and I surface from our rooms. Thankfully not the details about my teenaged despair, rather the premonition of our potential victory. I’ve realized how important it is to give people hope in this c
“Oh?” I inquire, waggling my brows. “I don’t suppose you’re referring to a certain wolf with a sly smile and bedroom eyes?”Cora glowers at me, “You know smug really isn’t a good color on you.”“I’m not trying to be smug.” I reply apologetically, leaning my shoulder against hers. “I’ve just never se
He shakes his head at me as tears fill his own eyes and he leans forward, pulling me against him while somehow miraculously managing not to crush our children between us as he holds me tight in his arms. “So, I guess it wouldn’t matter,” he murmurs against my hair as I sniff back my tears and nod.
“Even more than the kids!?” I gasp, my mouth falling open a bit. “I mean, the kids,” he says, shrugging as if they’re not much, which makes me laugh. But then he goes a little rigid as he realizes something, raising his eyes to glare at me a bit. “Wait, are you saying you like the kids more than m
Ella “Nope,” Sinclair says, heaving himself out of bed and grabbing his phone off the bedside table as he does. “I can’t live like this, Ella – I’m calling Roger, I’ve got to know –“ “Dominic!” I say, laughing and grabbing for him, trying to catch the edge of his pajamas and failing because I’v
She laughs and I look first at Sinclair, who shrugs, and then back at my sister. “Come on,” Roger says, nodding at the crowds of people waiting to congratulate us and at the small table of refreshments. “Let’s decide this over some champagne.” Sinclair nods at me and I sigh, moving with my famil
The last image, though, lingers. Ariel, with Rafe and Jesse on either side – as they always are – and her two mates behind her. All standing together on a battlefield with Ariel at the center, magic welling between her hands and passing to her brother, to her cousin. Their faces are serious as t
Cora The images of Ariel’s future come in quick flashes, and somehow I get the impression that the Goddess is eager to share these glimpses of her life. The ones that come first are what I sort of expected, especially after seeing some images of Rafe’s childhood and hearing about the ones that
“We are not,” Cora scoffs, gently taking Ariel into her arms as Sinclair and I laugh. Roger grins, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek before passing Jesse to me. “You know I’m kidding, right, Ells?” he whispers. I smile at my brother-in-law and gently pat his cheek. “When in doubt, Roger,”
Ella Three weeks later – Ariel was born under a waning quarter moon, not a new moon like her brother and her cousin – I stand anxiously in the woods, my little girl held tight in my arms. “I’m sensing some anxiety,” Cora says, grinning at me with a little too much glee as she comes up to my sid
“Oh my god,” I say, the words spilling out of my mouth. “Oh my god,” I sit up straight, staring at Henry, my eyes flicking to his legs – because honestly, I don’t even notice his chair anymore, or think of him at all as someone whose abilities are hindered. Or of me as someone who is able to do an